Breathing stopping while falling asleep

SleeplessInLasVegas · Post by **SleeplessInLasVegas** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:25 pm

Has anyone heard of this?

I've noticed something happening to me as I start to fall asleep on therapy. As long as my mind is focused on breathing I'm fine. But as my mind starts to wander and I feel myself nodding off my breathing stops. This happens under any pressure. I was using the auto mode and thought that maybe I was not getting enough pressure to breath so I set the machine for straight CPAP prescription pressure and still getting the same result. I feel like all the sudden I am suffocating and I wake up. I don't think it's an obstruction but feels more like my mind and body losing a connection and my breathing stops.

My therapy seems to be getting more difficult than easier. I slept well the first couple of nights after I got setup properly but it seems that more and more it's getting rougher. If I can get 3 hours on therapy a night it's a miracle.

Wulfman · Post by **Wulfman** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:38 pm

I'm a little confused......
Your profile is showing Encore Pro software and the Remstar Plus M Series C-Flex CPAP Machine. The "Plus" doesn't record meaningful data.....just hours slept.

What are the settings on your machine?

Den

CollegeGirl · Post by **CollegeGirl** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:50 pm

I'm sure one of the techs will chime in here - but it's actually quite common to stop breathing as you fall asleep. These are "central" apneas because they're brain related, but they're not anything to worry about. Everyone does it, including non-apneacs.

NightHawkeye · Post by **NightHawkeye** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 12:52 pm

So many questions come to mind, Randall. Do you have ramp turned on? If so, that would account for what's happening. What does your software show? Why are you waking up? Is it from pressure changes? leaks? Is your profile correct? Are you using the Remstar Plus? Or did you get an APAP?

I don't mean to bug you with questions, but just trying to help.

Regards,
Bill

betty303 · Post by **betty303** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 1:50 pm

I have the same thing happen as I am drifting off to sleep - it is the main thing that keeps me from not falling asleep most nights -then I get past my sleepy stage - and then I am wide awake for another hour or two.

It happened for me on CPAP, with or without ramp - so much so that I talked the doctor into getting a home trial on APAP because I did not think I was getting enough pressure either.

Now on APAP with or without C-Flex - it is still happening. Like you, I was doing better in my first month and now in my second and third months, I have regressed and 3 hours actually sleeping under the mask is a miracle for me too.

So I am waiting to hear responses too. Thanks for asking the question SleeplessinLasVegas.

Snoredog · Post by **Snoredog** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:05 pm

what does your diagnostic PSG report look like?
what pressure are you currently at?
what Cflex setting are you using?
what sleep position does it seem to happen more often in (back, right side, left side etc.)?

Is it normal? No.

CollegeGirl · Post by **CollegeGirl** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:42 pm

I disagree. I know I've read something here, and elsewhere, that said EVERYONE stops breathing once or twice while they're falling asleep every now and then. It's like that "twitch" you get when falling asleep - also totally normal. I hope a tech or doc will chime in on this.

SleeplessInLasVegas · Post by **SleeplessInLasVegas** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:46 pm

I had selected the wrong machine in my profile. I have a REMStar Auto CPAP with C-Flex.

I was just asking if anyone else has this issue. My pressure is 14.0 CM per my prescription. Yes I use the ramp feature but it happens regarless of the machine being in ramp mode or full pressure.

At this point I have chosen the self-medicating path. I will adjust the machine maximum level over a period of time. My prescription is 14.0 CM. Tonight I will place it at 10, a lower pressure where I do not seem to have trouble with my mouth opening. I'm sure I will have some apena episodes but 10 - 15 per hour is better than 65 per hour which is what I was getting with no treatment. Over time I will raise the pressure slowly to my prescription level, I'm planning on months here.

Of all the masks I have, Ultra Mirage FF, Mirage Active, and the Swift Nasal Pillow, the easiest for me to wear and use is the Swift. I have tried using the chinstrap but it doesn't work unless I place it tight enough that my head feels like it's in a vice and I can't sleep.

I really am at my wits end on this but am determined to make it work the best way I can.

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 2:58 pm

Okay, not wanting to add stress here, but please define the machine again. Is it the REMStar Auto CPAP with C-Flex, or is it the M Series Auto with c-flex? You have the M listed in your profile. I'm going to assume you have the M series because you talk about using the ramp with the auto.

Now for the relaxing part. I think you are right to lower the pressure and try to get some sleep. Don't let this stress you out. Even if you have to not use the machine for a couple of nights -- just breathe deep and take it slowly.

Sometimes when I am falling asleep, I think I don't breathe as often or as deeply as when I'm awake.

If your ramp setting is low, I think you should raise it up a little. Otherwise, you aren't getting enough air and you might be having apneas as you fall asleep. I think someone else may have written that also.

Relax, and you will succeed.

SleeplessInLasVegas · Post by **SleeplessInLasVegas** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:04 pm

Thanks, Linda. Again I had selected the wrong machine from the list. I do have the M series however in the listing I didn't see it because they left the name "REMStar" out of the title.

schaefage · Post by **schaefage** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:13 pm

Hello,

I too have had problems with feeling like I am stopping breathing right as I am falling asleep--feeling like there is a disconnect from my brain to my lungs. From studying the posts on this forum and talking to others, I am almost 100% certain (for me) that these are normal centrals -like events that occur in my initial stages of falling asleep. This is what I have concluded for me, and it may not be the same for everyone. I just trust that what some of the experts on here have said--that even normal/non apneaic people have these as they are falling asleep.

I welcome anyone to correct me, because I am a newbie, and I am ready and willing to learn.

Kent

Linda3032 · Post by **Linda3032** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:15 pm

Okay, we got that straight.

And I must say, I'm not a "touchy feely" kind of person, but I'm giving you mental ((hugz)) right now. I think you need a bunch.

Just hang in there.

dsm · Post by **dsm** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:19 pm

Randall,

Just a few additional thoughts based on similar experience.

I have observed consistently that when falling asleep, and also from the recorded data & PO data, just before waking, that my breathing can slow & stop.

Some time back I recall someone saying this was a known phenomenon but I can't recall any additional details.

It used to bother myself and wife as it began to show up strongly about 4 months into cpap therapy. Wife would wake me & say you are stopping breathing again (one of the reasons I went for the initial sleep study) - her comments were that she would be woken because the machine noise pattern changed & then she could hear it whining at maximum & hear air escaping from my mask & me not breathing. In the end I got a BiLevel with timed mode & wife has said she no longer gets disturbed by this situation & I also seem to have improved my own response to therapy.

But, I am not sure this stopping breathing just on falling asleep is a serious or even severe issue, just a normal aspect of sleep disordered breathing.

Over the past year or so, I have been noticing that there are dips in both SpO2 and increased OSA/SA episodes right at the fall asleep & just pre wake up times. These short episodes don't seem to cause any other problems nor do they seem to impact daytime wakefulness.

My guess is that this is more or less an issue we learn to live with (assuming this is a similar situation).

Good luck with it.

DSM

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SleeplessInLasVegas · Post by **SleeplessInLasVegas** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:49 pm

Thanks for all the input, guys. In seeing that others have heard of and experienced this I now feel it is quite normal. I took a nap without the CPAP today and noticed the same thing as I fell asleep, but it was less dramatic. When I did stop breathing, while on the brink of napping, my body seemed to recover quickly and less noticeably by mouth breathing, where as with the nasal CPAP the recovery was through my nose causing a much more suffocating and claustrophobic feeling. It's just something to which my body and mind are gonna have to adjust. As I said, I am determined to make this work.

Linda, thanks for the hug. Needed that!

Randall

bluegrassfan · Post by **bluegrassfan** » Sun Mar 11, 2007 3:53 pm

I'll admit I don't know much, but I just can't believe it's normal for your brain to fail to tell your body not to breathe, and to need a jumpstart to wake you up so you can breathe on your own. I think you would be wise to research central apneas...that's what I'm doing, cause I have them too.

Breathing stopping while falling asleep

Breathing stopping while falling asleep

ditto